Divine Bovine

Divine Bovine is an anthropological research, carried out by Tony Meneguzzo (Portogruaro, 1949), of the Hindu tradition of celebrating the harvest and the bovine sacredness. The photographer explored several Indian states - Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan - visiting their highdensity rural villages to find the cows dressed up for the celebration of Pongal, Wangala, Holi festivals.
Adorned with garlands of fresh flowers, with decorations of colourful shiny trinkets, the cows are also prepared, and this is the most striking design element, painting their coat and horns with organic pigments that have specific meanings. After completion of the shooting, Meneguzzo cropped the images of the animals making them float on the milky white, to emphasize the artistic work done by the locals, a testimony of a rural yet sophisticated art. The complete collection is showcased in this book.
texts by: Rosalyn D'Mello, Toni Meneguzzo, Jean Blanchaert